"Tyler is gone? That's what you're calling me about? You know what I have to say to that: Good!" Damon exclaimed. "I'm sick of the vampire vs werewolf torture!"
"I just- I know he feels terrible; they tricked him." Abigail walked away from the swarm of students arriving for the day, stopping just in front of Alaric's car. "I mean, they preyed on the loss of his uncle to get him on their side. His uncle that you killed, by the way."
"God, why did you have to bring that up?" He let out a heavy breath. "Well, Tyler probably should've known there was more to the story when they were asking him to go after Elena."
Stefan's car pulled into the parking lot. "I have to go."
"Oh, wait, one more thing: when Alaric daggered Elijah, it broke his compulsion."
She scoffed. "Was that your way of telling me that Katherine's out of the tomb?"
He did not answer her question. "Alright, have a good day!"
With her hand still wrapped tightly around her phone, Abigail found Stefan's side. "Why is Katherine still here?"
"She wants what we want... Klaus dead." Stefan shrugged. "Maybe she sees us as her only chance."
Elena scoffed very similarly to the way her sister had into the phone as she approached them. "Considering she's sleeping across the hall from you, I think she's here to lure you and Damon back into her web. I want her gone."
"So do I," he stressed. "But she stayed. Shouldn't we at least try to figure out why?"
"How?" Abigail asked. "She lies ninety-nine percent of the time."
"Look, I hate it, but she does make a point: we don't know anything about Klaus. She does." He wrapped his arm around Elena's shoulders. "Maybe we should stay at your place tonight."
"No, you can't. Sorry. I told Bonnie and Caroline that they could come over." They stared back at her. "Look, Bonnie lost her powers and Caroline is having problems with Matt. They need another girls' night."
Stefan raised his eyebrows at her. "Maybe Katherine can join you."
They couldn't help but laugh as they walked to Alaric's classroom, especially since they knew there would be no smiles once they got there. Alaric was waiting for them, sitting slumped over in his chair with his hands in his hair. It was hard to imagine the way he felt, but it was easy to see the toll all the lies and secrets were taking on him.
"It was bad. You know, John planted all these seeds about Isobel and now Jenna knows I'm lying about something." He dropped his fist on his desk. "Which means it's only a matter of time before she starts looking for answers that will reveal what else I'm keeping from her. What we are all keeping from her."
Abigail sat on the empty corner of his desk. "John's going to end up dead on the kitchen floor if he's not careful."
"Yeah, well, easier said than done. I gave him back his ring so..." He looked back to Elena. "Jenna keeps asking about Isobel. You know, was she murdered? Why haven't they found the body? I mean, how much longer can she stay in the dark?"
"You think we should tell her the truth?" Elena asked.
"I'm saying I can't be around her and not tell her about Isobel." He looked at Abigail's hand, but he didn't take it. "It's too much."
She stood up, took a step back, and faced Elena. "It's becoming more dangerous for her not to know."
"I just thought that we'd at least hold off until after we've dealt with Klaus." Elena looked up at the clock. "Even then, how do we tell someone what we know? How does someone hear that?"
"I'm sorry to put this on you, but I feel it's your decision to make." He looked down at his ringless finger. "And whatever you decide to do, I'll respect it."
Standing around the kitchen island with Elena, Bonnie, and Caroline, Abigail was no longer surprised by their changed dynamic. "Chinese food or pizza?"
Caroline laughed, reaching for her tablet. "Like you have to ask."
Her face fell the second she looked down at her screensaver. Her. Matt. A kiss on the cheek.
Abigail gently took it from her. "I'll do it."
Elena and Bonnie's conversation drew them back in with a question, "Do you believe that Jonas is being sincere?"
"Stefan wants to get the Martins on our side, but they hate us. I don't even know how to convince them to have a civil conversation." She shrugged. "I think he's at a loss. He's not sure who to trust."
"Join the club..."
"Okay, movie situation..." Caroline mused. "What about 'The Notebook'?"
Abigail turned around to face her. "How many times have you seen that movie?"
Caroline rolled her eyes. "That is so not the point!"
"Well, yeah, I mean-" Jenna entered the kitchen. "Hey!"
Jenna took in her expression. "What's going on?"
"Girls' night." She motioned around at the overflow of snacks. "How are you doing?"
"You heard my fight with Ric at dinner the other night, didn't you?"
She shrugged, trying to play off how invested she was in the situation. "He feels terrible."
Jenna looked around at them. "Is this some kind of disguised attempt to cheer me up?"
"No," she said. "No, this is about us girls hanging out and you know, we'll be here if you happen to want to talk, or..."
"Okay, then." She joined them. "It's this whole Isobel thing. He's hiding something from me."
"To play devil's advocate," Caroline said hesitantly. "Maybe there is a great reason why he's not telling you. Maybe he is just trying to protect you."
"Well, that's not his call to make. I mean, I deserve the truth. Everybody does."
"Sometimes it's harder than that," Abigail stuttered out.
"Not if it's somebody you care about, it isn't."
"You know what we need?" Caroline jumped to her feet. "Dancing. There is a band at the Grill."
"I'm in."
"In."
"In."
All eyes were Abigail when she looked up from the tablet. "What? I was canceling the pizza order."
Caroline clapped her hands with delight as they walked through the front doors of the Grill. The band had drawn out even the most unlikely of patrons, creating a frenzy of activity that seemed to radiate the positive energy they were after.
Alaric was already three glasses of bourbon in when Abigail leaned against the bar next to him. "What happened to girls' night?"
"Well, girls' night in turned into girls' night out." He nodded once, still miles away. "Hey, what can I do?"
"Just..." He reached for her but stopped himself when the bartender handed her a tray of drinks. "Just enjoy your night."
Once Caroline seemed to have relaxed after her run in with Matt, Bonnie was cracking jokes, and Jenna had enough to drink to stop theorizing about what else Alaric was hiding, Abigail was satisfied with the short-term results of the night. She still couldn't shake the thought of what it would all look like in the morning. Maybe it would last a few days, maybe a few weeks, but they couldn't run from what was lingering just out of sight.
Caroline threw her denim jacket at Abigail, pulling her from her thoughts. "Where are you going? Caroline, what are you doing?"
"Hey, everybody. Let's hear it for the band! Weren't they awesome?" When she started clapping, the crowd joined in. "So, there's this guy. And, uh, he told me to tell him how I feel about him. Like it's so easy. Um, you know, just 'cause I talk a lot doesn't mean I always know what I'm actually talking about. Ah, like now, I'm feeling loopy and I don't really know how to express myself."
Jenna took another shot of tequila. "This isn't going to end well."
The singer tried to gently take the microphone from her, but she resisted. "I can sing. Yeah! Yeah. You know what, I'm going to sing."
The bathroom. That was where Abigail could hear Caroline's voice. And she wasn't alone.
Breathlessly, she said, "I can't believe we're doing this."
Alaric smirked. "Me either."
Her back was against the wall, her hands were in his hair, and the only thing that seemed to matter was the fact that he was whispering her name so softly she wasn't even sure he knew he was doing it. The slightest movement of his fingers found his hand under her shirt. The breath she pulled away to take upon contact with his skin was enough for his lips to find their way to her neck, and the motion of her chest as it rose and fell gave her hands room to fall down to his chest.
And then there was a knock on the door. It sobered them up, each from a different state of drunkenness. And a giggle told them everything they needed to know: it was Matt and Caroline.
"Okay..." He backed away from her. "We can't do this, not here."
She straightened out her shirt, smoothed down her hair, and breathed out, "Yeah..."
In the hall, Elena was just about to enter the women's room. "Seriously?"
"Well..." Abigail watched Alaric walk away, but pointed to the other bathroom door. "Matt and Caroline are in there."
They erupted into laughter as Bonnie joined them. "What did I miss?"
"Caroline and Matt are..."
"In the bathroom?!"
Elena shrugged. "If they're happy, I'm happy."
"Um, hey, speaking of happy..." Bonnie led them back out to the dining room. "Would it freak you guys out if I started dating your brother?"
They skirted to a halt. "You're into our brother?"
"I know it's weird," she said. "But he's been so good and strong. He makes me happy and I really can't tell what you're thinking..."
Elena's hesitation was not the same kind she gave Abigail and Alaric. It was only the kind she could have given if she had experienced it before. The kind of hesitation that was always interpreted as something else.
"I'm thinking that my brother has had more pain in his life than a hundred people's worth of pain," Elena said. "And he deserves to be with someone as amazing as you."
She looked between them. "Really?"
Abigail smiled, and it was then that Bonnie could see she had not hesitated for a moment. "Really."
Just past the bar, Elena's phone rang. "Hey, Stefan, I'm at the Grill. I can't hear you." She turned back toward the bathrooms. "Hold on..."
Bonnie weaved her way into the crowd. "Jonas is here."
"Wh-" Abigail spun around, right into Alaric. "Ric!"
"What's wrong?"
"You need to get Jenna out of here." The power went out. "Now!"
Stefan intercepted her at the bar, dragging her and Elena in the direction of Matt and Caroline.
Matt groaned. "What the hell?"
In lieu of an apology, Abigail said, "The power is out."
"Clearly!" Caroline exclaimed.
Matt stepped toward the door. "I should go help."
"We have a problem," she announced.
Caroline looked at their troubled expressions. "What's going on?"
"Luka is dead. Damon and Katherine had to kill him to stop him from undaggering Elijah. Now Jonas is after Elena." Stefan paused to catch his breath. "We have a plan, but I need to get Elena out of here."
There was shattered glass everywhere and a fire that had been magically set was growing across the bar top. There were people running all directions, trying to make it to whatever exit they could. The atmosphere had shifted, far from what it had been before.
Jonas was coming toward them, Bonnie was on the ground, and the only voice that Abigail could make out belonged to her sister. "Dr. Martin! I'm so sorry about Luka. I never wanted that to happen, but... at least let us help you get your daughter back."
"Only Elijah can do that."
Caroline came up behind him, giving them just enough time to escape.
Jeremy and Bonnie were sitting in the kitchen when they got home, but they rose to their feet almost as soon as their eyes landed on them.
Elena shook her head. "It's not over yet."
"What's going on?"
Stefan looked between them. "When did you guys get home?"
"A few minutes ago," Bonnie guessed. "Why?"
"Did you check the house?"
As they followed Elena's path, Jeremy asked, "Why would we check the house?"
They found Elena, Katherine rather, standing over Jonas' body in the bathroom. "You're welcome."
"You didn't have to kill him!" Bonnie exclaimed.
"Yes." She licked the rest of the blood off of her lips. "We did."
Bonnie reached down to close his eyes, finding herself unsuccessful as he, very much still alive, took her face in his hands. It was a short moment, an action that meant more than any of them knew, but it wasn't enough to stop them from reacting. It was then that Stefan snapped his neck.
"How did you guys convince her to do this?"
"We didn't." Damon's lips pulled themselves into a tight-lipped smile as he crossed his arms over his chest. "It was actually her idea."
Elena faltered. "That's... not good."
"No." He glanced sideways toward the stairs. "No, that's not good at all."
Katherine pulled off Elena's necklace. "I'm guessing you're going to want this back. But your pretty little outfit is going to need a good dry clean."
She snatched it from Katherine's hand, speaking only to Stefan, "You're going to have to get her out of here before Jenna gets home."
Katherine scoffed. "Is that all you have to say to me?"
"This doesn't change the way I feel about you."
"I don't much like you, either, if we're going to be open," She clasped her hands behind her back. "And frankly, I'd be happy to see you dead. But if we're going to try to take on Klaus, we kinda need you to be alive. I'm not a threat to you, Elena. If any of you are going to believe anything, believe that."
Alaric called to let Abigail know that he, at the very least, had smoothed Jenna over on Isobel. Their conversation didn't last longer than that, she didn't expect it to, so she found herself down stairs. Jenna was eating ice cream from the tub with Elena in the kitchen. And, as soon as she stepped foot into the room, Jenna held up a spoon for her. It reminded her of their very first girls' night, minus one very important person.
Jenna dropped her spoon. "Are John and Jeremy asleep?"
Elena peered out of the kitchen. "I think so."
"If I go to bed right now, there's a chance I'll wake up hangover-free." The doorbell rang. "Who's that?"
"Hi, you must be Jenna," the visitor said. "I'm... Elena's mother."
Elena gasped. "Isobel."